The Young Lady Who Can't Eat Alone
“This one’s by Baron Erisong—a classic wandering tale with a cheerful protagonist. The hero’s a roaming poet, so it’s light and easy to get into.”
Thud.
“Ah, this one’s great for beginners too. Anonymous author, mercenary company story. Adventures with cool companions, solving incidents and accidents along the way.”
Thud.
“Right! This one too! The ending’s fantastic, and the setup for the twist is so meticulously crafted—if you like novels with twists, this is perfect.”
Thud.
“Can’t forget this one! It’s inspired by the Great Great Knight Order. The knights’ burning loyalty is so moving. You absolutely have to read it.”
Thud.
That made four volumes already.
Right at the entrance to the pure literature section, a tower of four books had begun to rise, and at this rate I was going to be crushed under the sky-high benevolence of a veteran. I had to request structural support.
“Uh, Ariel? I think this is plenty.”
“Hm? Really?”
The excitement that had been bubbling out of Ariel settled a little, but even this much grace was more than enough.
A fresh newbie who just scarfs down whatever a veteran casually tosses their way can end up dying of happiness, after all.
Besides, during our stay I still had to juggle practical training with Rachel and sightseeing around the northern duchy’s cities. I couldn’t pour too much time into reading.
These were books a veteran had personally certified.
They would be far superior in quality to the seven volumes this newbie had randomly grabbed to sample, so four was already an excessive blessing.
Of course everyone has different tastes, but when a veteran who finished analyzing my preferences from a seven-story book tower made the selection, I trusted it without a shred of doubt.
Ariel slid the book she had just picked up back onto the shelf with a reluctant look.
“Then for today we’ll stop he—… ah, no.”
“…For today?”
“Ah, never mind.”
She trailed off, looking bashful.
The veteran who had gotten a taste for raising newbies seemed disappointed that her time of bestowing gifts had ended so quickly.
I understood completely.
I would have felt the same.
Sharing the experiences and emotions you felt, receiving empathy for them, building bonds and intimacy, and even boosting your self-esteem—that was natural human psychology.
I had received enormous help from a chance meeting.
Without Ariel I might have just sampled this and that until I got sick of the whole thing.
As a human being, once you receive help you are supposed to repay it with something of equal value.
“Will you stop by the library tomorrow too?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Yep! I’m already coming every day. I’ll probably keep coming for about two weeks. There’s still a mountain of things I haven’t read.”
“Hmm. Around what time?”
“Me? I’m here from morning till evening…?”
Aha.
I had asked something obvious.
Wait, but as far as I knew there was no separate dining space for outsiders inside the Grand Ducal castle.
And it wasn’t as if a medieval library came equipped with a modern convenience store.
“Then how do you handle lunch? There’s nowhere to eat, is there?”
“Ah…”
Ariel hesitated, delaying her answer.
I had only been curious, but the feeling that I had asked something unnecessary made me about to change the subject—when she answered in a small, sheepish voice.
“I-I actually just skip it.”
“…You starve?”
“Yeah.”
A young lady of a ducal house who skipped meals.
In an aristocratic society of absolute power, it was unimaginable, incomprehensible even after knowing it, and truly one of a kind.
I had to ask again, unable to believe what had just struck my eardrums.
“You starve the whole day? Aren’t you hungry?”
“A little… but there’s nothing I can really do about it, and I love reading so much that I just endure it.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Going outside to eat takes too much time.”
“You could just check books out, couldn’t you?”
That was probably the exact look I had given Ariel earlier.
The look that said “What are you even talking about?”—eyebrows raised, staring at me like I was absurd.
“Checking out is only for when you have no choice, or when you’re going home.”
“……”
I roughly understood.
What Ariel meant by “when you have no choice.”
Natural disasters, short trips, being too ill to go out—things like that, I supposed.
And for a bookworm, the musty yet savory scent of this library and the peace it held made for a perfect reading environment.
Her appetite for books simply outweighed her appetite for food—yet one question still remained unanswered.
“Then why not have a maid pack you a lunch?”
“……”
Ariel delayed her answer again with that same sheepish expression.
And the reply she finally gave struck me as truly unexpected.
That answer also let me remember that I had never once seen Ariel eating at the Academy cafeteria.
Ironically, once I started recalling, more memories surfaced one by one.
“Eating alone feels a little… and asking a maid to eat with me would make her uncomfortable, so I just hold out until I get back to my quarters. I hate being a nuisance.”
I understood that feeling completely too.
If a junior employee had to share a table with the company president, every grain of rice would stick in their throat.
Anyway.
It seemed this newbie who had received a veteran’s grace now had a way to repay it.
If I wanted to fish up interesting novels during our stay, I needed her help.
Especially since the largest library in the northern duchy held rare books sleeping on its shelves.
In a place where reproduction technology was lacking, an entertaining and scarce novel was a true pearl in the mud.
To devour them all before we left the Grand Ducal castle, a veteran’s assistance was close to essential.
“Then how about eating lunch together? If you come with me as an acquaintance, you’ll be able to dine in the Great Hall. It’s close to the library too.”
To me—who valued meaningful reading time far more than a meaningless engagement war—it was a natural promise and a proper return of favor.
What newbie would ever refuse a veteran’s support, after all?
Ariel’s eyes went round as she asked again.
“…Really? Why?”
“Well. I didn’t have anyone to eat with either.”
“You? Why?”
Still holding the four-volume tower, I shrugged.
People willing to sit down and share a friendly meal with a notorious scoundrel character were rare.
And as she said, just because I hated eating alone didn’t mean I could drag poor souls to the table and force them to sit.
Besides, I was thoroughly sick of solo meals.
Back when Lee Junuw had nothing, when there was so much to lose, when he worked three jobs and cut sleep short—eating alone had been no different from daily life.
More than anything, people who shared the same hobby dining together and chatting about it always produced progressive joy.
I rolled all those complicated reasons into one answer.
“A scoundrel’s life is a lonely one.”
“Ah……”
Ariel let out another short sigh of understanding, offering silent agreement.
Looking at her, she seemed to be a young lady who, unlike most noble daughters, possessed no particular talent for hiding her inner thoughts.
Rustle.
A glance.
Rustle.
A glance.
Rustle.
A glance.
Rustle.
A glance.
……
A glance?
We had moved seats and were now sitting in the reading room.
I was reading the books she had recommended; Ariel was reading the ones she had chosen.
The problem was this:
Receiving such heavenly grace was wonderful, yet a veteran who nervously watched every time the newbie turned a page was a little hard to ignore.
Every single page, Ariel would peek over her book like a meerkat before burying her face again.
I had read ten pages, so that made ten nervous glances.
There was no way I could not notice.
I set the book down with a soft tap and lifted my head; Ariel hurriedly hid behind hers.
I didn’t need to ask why.
“It’s fun.”
“H-huh?”
“This—it’s really fun. You looked worried.”
I held up the book.
Of the four volumes, it was the last one she had recommended: The Loyalty Chronicle of the Great Great Knight Order.
I had only gotten through ten pages, but true to a veteran’s recommendation, the immersion was high right from the start.
Of course it was far too early to properly judge how good it was, but Ariel’s fretting kept catching my eye, so I told her that.
It did seem like it would be fun, too.
Immediately a smile of relief bloomed on Ariel’s face.
“Phew—thank goodness. I was worried. This is the first time I’ve ever recommended books to anyone… heh.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah! No one around me reads pure literature. Even the maids only read boring romance stuff.”
She sighed and complained bitterly.
Like women who preferred full 3D adult RPGs over cute pastel 2D ones, she apparently had unique tastes and had been forced to enjoy her hobby alone.
Thanks to that I had received great help, though.
The modern Lee Junuw had also been a lonely golden retriever who always read alone, but at least he had anonymous communities where he could share impressions and receive empathy.
Without even that, he would have been pouring out the exact same complaints as Ariel.
Reading was about enjoying solitude and contemplation, yet just as even a lifelong homebody sometimes needed to go outside, you also needed time to debate the works you had read.
“You hate romance, huh? That’s unexpected.”
“It just isn’t interesting. You know, right? Dramatic love like that is nothing but fantasy for people like us.”
People like us.
She meant nobles who, rather than the dramatic romantic love that only happened in novels, had to marry while looking at the “person” instead of “love,” chained by political marriage.
The young lady who couldn’t eat alone apparently preferred reality over fantasy.
In a fantasy world, stories of mercenary friendship, chivalric spirit, a hero’s adventure, or wars between different races were the realistic ones.
To my previous life, which had never known romance, both kinds of stories had been pure fantasy—but still.
“True enough. So you only read pure literature?”
“I read classics and mythology too, but mostly pure literature.”
“Ohho. Classics and mythology… that sounds fun too.”
“Really?”
When the newbie showed interest, Ariel’s blue eyes sparkled like a sea reflecting sunlight.
And my eyes sparkled just the same.
Classical literature written in a fantasy world would be the continent’s founding chronicles, kingdom founding records, or hero legends. Mythology would not be stories of imaginary modern gods, but tales of the real, genuine gods who indirectly governed the continent.
Just thinking about it made my mouth water.
I had no idea why there were so many delicious-looking things.
“Once I finish everything you recommended, could you recommend some mythology or classics too?”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“I’d love that!”
After that short reading session I checked the clock.
It was almost time for training with Rachel.
I gathered the books and stood.
“I’ll head out then. I’ve got training this evening. I’ll read what you recommended tonight, so let’s talk more tomorrow.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting here again tomorrow!”
“Thanks for today.”
“Ah?”
At my casually spoken farewell, a familiar expression appeared on Ariel’s face.
It was the exact look Old Man Rendler made day in and day out.
The ‘Elden Raphelion did what!?’ face.
“Th-thanks for what? I had fun being able to talk about novels like this too.”
“I’m off then.”
“Okay!”
Ariel waved with a bright smile.
I returned the wave awkwardly, then went to the library entrance and checked out the four books.
But now that I thought about it…
Where did the butler who said he was going to get magic theory books go?
It had already been over an hour since I met Ariel.
Had he gone all the way to the Magic Tower for the theory books?
Even after waiting a while, Rendler showed no sign of his face, so I eventually had to ask a staff member for help.
“Has a mustachioed old butler visited the magic book section?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure.”
What?
Where on earth did he go?
“……Where in the world is this?”
Following his memory of a previous visit, the old butler Rendler had set out with confidence—only to get spectacularly lost and end up in the underground fourth-floor warehouse.
“Wh-where am I supposed to go……”
Sniffle.
The crybaby old butler wandered for a long time with tears blurring his vision, until he was finally arrested by security staff as a current trespasser and was able to meet Elden.
The directionally challenged were, after all, a brave breed.